Pulk Sleds

Here you will find Information on pulk sleds, one of the most important pieces of equipment at the YAU.

Start at the YAU from a different perspective. Photo taken by Nicola Bartesaghi

SLEDS FROM THE UK

If you want a nice big sled then you should check out Snowsled pulks. They sell two different kinds of plastic sleds, the Denali Pulk and the Ice Blue. The Denali Pulk is produced by the US company Paris. The Ice Blue was introduced in 2005. Both sleds have been tried and tested at the YAU many times.

Stefano Miglietti and Enrico Ghidoni from Italy for example broke the 300 mile record in 2007 with Ice Blue Pulks. And that was a year that was very rough on the sleds due to the hard surface. Racelite.com sells the shells and all the accessories.

Denali Pulk with kit bag.

If you don't want to break records, this sled is a good option. The advantages are:

very stable
plenty of space
you can buy everything or just certain accessories
Racelite.com ships the sled whereever you want it, i.e. good for Europeans because you can use it for your training

Beware: This sled is so big, it can tempt you to take along more gear than you need!

Denali Pulk from the side.

The Ice Blue is lighter and has been made specifically for people who go for tours with pulk sleds (while the Denali is a transportation sled - typically for hauling fire wood, etc.).

The Ice Blue hull

The Ice Blue and Snowsled set-up for pulling

The fact that the Ice Blue is lighter and made for tours makes it a good sled for competitive athletes. The rest of the advantages and disadvantages are the same as for the Denali.

The new Snowsled hauling shafts are great and the harnesses are awesome, too.

SLEDS FROM THE US

Northern Sled Works from Fairbanks, Alaska, make sleds from Ultra High Molecular Weight polyethylene (UHMW). This is a remarkable material. It's incredibly tough and takes a lot of abrasion by rocks.

Norther Sled Works Siglin pulks lined up at the start of the YAU 08

Other features:

These sleds can be bent to fit your load or rolled for shipping purposes
Simple, dependable design
Tough, flexible 1/4 inch ultraviolet resistant UHMW polyethylene
Side ropes for lashing down gear
Unaffected by temperatures colder than 60 below F.
Sleds have a single 30" piece of galvanized steel angle iron in the middle of the rear which keeps them tracking straight on both ice and steep side hills

Due to its toughness this is the sled that we now use as our rental sleds (see also Rental). As an accessory they also sell poles. If you want to buy one please check out the Northern Sled Works website for prices and stores.

Sleds from Germany

Acapulka is one of the world's most experienced companies when it comes to building expedition sleds. They have a very wide range of sleds. The quality of their product is very good and if need be they also make custom sleds. Of course it needs to be said that a lot of their sleds are not really cheap. However, if you are thinking about doing an intensive training tour or want to participate in winter races for a few years to come it's worth considering the investment.

We offer the Scandic Tour 120 as a rental sled. Since it is fibre glass and not carbon/kevlar, it it's price is very attractive. It sells for EUR 499.95. Some technical details:

Weight: 5.5 kg
Length: 120 cm
Maximum width: 51 cm
Load capacity: > 250 litres when packed 50 cm high

It comes with a 500D Cordura cover.

If you want to buy this sled you can do so on Racelite.com. If you want to check out the other Acapulka products please go to www.acapulka.com.

DIY

Of course you can also build pulk sleds yourself. Depending on where you live, there are some very cheap solutions. If you live in Europe this approach may cost you more as the plastic sleds are not easy to get or more expensive. However, you can still save money. And it allows you to do plenty of testing (if you have snow that is).

It is no science and the pictures above give you an impression on how it is done. You can buy a hull from Racelite.com or from Snowsled. In North America the Paris sleds are sold in quite a few places. Shipping of the Ice Blue to North America or countries outside the EU may be quite expensive but surely is possible.

Some basic suggestions:

Take light weight plastic pipes. If you just use rope to connect the sled to your belt it will be a pain on the many downhills. However, the piping should not be too thin. Some sleds weigh a lot with all the gear and thin poles can easily break on a downhill.
If you integrate some elastic rope into your pulling setup it may help prevent some strain on the hipps. However, don't use too much. Do plenty of testing.
Don't pack your sled too high. It may make it fall over to the sides all the time.
If you are planning the construction remember the extremely cold temperatures and the effect this may have on the material.
Try to be organised when it comes to packing. You need to be able to quickly access all your gear.
Take with you what you need in case of repairs (e.g. duck tape, spare screws).
If you plan to take along a lot of weight, make sure your sled is tough. Otherwise, it may break early on into the race.

LINKS TO SITES RELATED TO PULK SLEDS

www.snowsled.com - UK based company that sells everything from affordable plastic sleds to the heavy duty expedition sleds. They also sell harnesses and other intersting gear and accessories.

www.skipulk.com - The site of Ed Bouffard from Minnesota has years of experience building custom sleds. He sells sleds and accessories but also shares his experience in a free to download guide on how to build your own.

www.granitegear.com - Sled including a great harness, poles, etc.

www.wildernessengineering.com - Sled builders from Utah.

www.northernsledworks.com - Intersting pulks made in Fairbanks, Alaska.

www.fjellpulken.no - A Norwegian company with a long tradition of building pulk sleds. They arre heavier and more expensive than the plastic pulks but of course also very robust. A great choice of the heavy user.

www.acapulka.com - German company with great quality products. Their featherlite 120 only weighs 2 kg. Although, prices are cheap. Like the Fjellpulken it is the right choice for people who intend to use their sled many times.